June 29, 2026
Brett Davis/IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Can Jock Landale stabilize the Sixers' backup center spot?
When a team embraces a three-star model of roster-building like the Sixers have, it is not just a sign of confidence in those high-end players to handle the heavy lifting. It is also a reflection of the team's confidence in its ability to find cost-effective talent on the margins as it tries to accumulate depth.
In the 2026-27 NBA season, the league's salary cap is projected to come in at $165 million. Joel Embiid, Paul George and Tyrese Maxey will make over $152 million.
So, it remains absolutely imperative that the Sixers find players capable of contributing on relatively cheap contracts. It has been a strength of the organization in the past – from a slew of successful veteran's minimum signings like Kelly Oubre Jr. to two-way success stories like Dominick Barlow and Jabari Walker – and is only growing more important.
On the eve of free agency kicking off, a look at some players representing potential bargains on the open market:
Landale was essentially available for free at last season's trade deadline, despite a 45-game sample with the Memphis Grizzlies proving he was a quality rotation center. The Atlanta Hawks acquired Landale for cash, and before suffering a late-season ankle injury he could not return from the veteran stretch five was a vital component of their second-half surge.
Between his stops in Atlanta and Memphis, Landale attempted 2.8 three-point tries per game – he shot more than twice as many threes last season as he ever had in a full season – and made 38.3 percent of them. He is a legitimate floor-spacer at center, something the Sixers have never quite had behind Embiid. Landale is also a major force on the offensive glass, where the Sixers have been more focused on finding help in recent years.
2025-26 Jock Landale:
— Adam Aaronson's clips (@SixersAdamClips) June 27, 2026
68 G (27 GS), 22.1 MPG
10.6 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 1.7 APG, 0.5 BPG, 0.5 SPG
8.1 FGA/G, 51.5 FG%
2.8 3PA/G, 38.3 3P%
5.8 ORB per 36 minutes pic.twitter.com/bf6sO21kzg
Exactly where Landale's market will land entering his age-31 season is unclear. If he is once again amenable to signing for a veteran's minimum salary, the Sixers should be extremely aggressive in making their pitch to Landale. If he ends up making a bit more money than that – perhaps in the range of the bi-annual exception, or even the taxpayer's mid-level exception – it is not a slam dunk of a signing, but still one worth considering.
Green played 82 games as an energizing force for the top-seeded Detroit Pistons last season, and after quite a few years of not exactly clicking on a regular basis in the NBA he was a full-fledged rotation player on an elite team last year. That came in part because of the progression he has experienced as a three-point shooter.
While Green has always been strong and extremely athletic, he has typically been thought of as a liability from beyond the arc. The volume was modest, but in 2025-26 Green made 38.1 percent of his three-point tries while also knocking down 84.0 percent of his free throws. That, in tandem with his constant defensive activity as a 6-foot-5 wing, makes for an intriguing player:
2025-26 Javonte Green:
— Adam Aaronson's clips (@SixersAdamClips) June 27, 2026
82 G (6 GS)
17.6 MPG
6.9 PPG
2.8 RPG (0.8 ORB)
1.2 SPG
3.0 3PA/G (38.1 3P%) pic.twitter.com/mMN1s2PDql
Detroit could very well retain Green, but he also may be the victim of a crunch. Detroit has too many defensive-oriented wings with checkered pasts as three-point shooters to begin with, and the Pistons could renounce some free agents in an effort to create significant cap space.
MORE: How Sixers can acquire significant rotation help via trade
Green's closest opposing analog in the first round of the playoffs was Cain, whose role for the Orlando Magic grew as the season went on. Cain played on a two-way deal until late March, when he earned a spot on Orlando's standard roster. By that point, he had already started a run in the Magic rotation that never came to an end.
From mid-March through the end of their seven-game playoff defeat at the hands of Detroit, Cain was a regular, whose toughness and defensive acumen on the wing gave him utility:
Jamal Cain in a 17-game stint as part of the Orlando Magic's regular rotation to end the regular season:
— Adam Aaronson's clips (@SixersAdamClips) June 27, 2026
19.6 MPG
9.0 PPG
3.6 RPG (1.2 ORB)
2.9 3PA/G
38.0 3P% pic.twitter.com/DEGymN4feQ
Cain, 27, is 6-foot-7 with 121 games of NBA experience under his belt across four seasons. That means he is no longer eligible to sign a two-way deal. Has he made a strong enough case to ink a full-season standard contract? Orlando has not yet decided on his team option worth a non-guaranteed salary of just under $2.6 million. For the Sixers, he could provide a helpful boost on the wing.
MORE: Bob Myers, Mike Gansey have ties worth noting ahead of free agency
Bagley may always be remembered for the Sacramento Kings choosing him over Luka Dončic in the 2018 NBA Draft, but in recent years Bagley has quietly carved out a solid role for himself in the NBA. He is a limited defender and that will always put a cap on what he can achieve, but he has become an idealized version of the run-jump-dunk archetype of big in the NBA.
Strong around the rim with off-the-ground explosion, Bagley is a very good play finisher. He really makes his money on the glass; Bagley is a dominant rebounder on both ends of the floor. A lengthy stint with the Washington Wizards resuscitated Bagley's career before he was part of the Anthony Davis trade and finished 2025-26 with the Dallas Mavericks.
2025-26 Marvin Bagley III:
— Adam Aaronson's clips (@SixersAdamClips) June 27, 2026
60 G (12 GS), 20.0 MPG
10.5 PPG
6.1 RPG (2.5 ORB)
61.8 FG%
24-52 3P pic.twitter.com/0zPklp1wCJ
Bagley, whose younger brother, Marcus, played for the Sixers on a pair of 10-day contracts in 2024-25, is probably going to sign a minimum deal. He is not going to be an elite backup center, but he is going to be extremely productive offensively.
Two other names stand out, but neither player is a sure thing to even reach free agency to begin with:
• Josh Minott is clearly a rotation-caliber wing in the NBA. The Boston Celtics struck gold with him on a two-year minimum last summer that included a team option for 2026-27. But, in order to get under the luxury tax, Boston sent Minott to Brooklyn, where despite not being in an ideal context for someone with his skills was able to make a strong impression. Brooklyn's decision on his team option will come in shortly; if the Nets mess around the Sixers should get Minott and his representation on the phone.
• While in a vacuum, there is no reason for the Memphis Grizzlies to not pick up their team option on Olivier Maxence-Prosper, they already are set to have as many as 17 players under contract heading into the offseason – and that is before the expected trade of Ja Morant, which will likely bring in more depth. Teams can carry up to 20 players in the offseason, but if the Grizzlies are unable to secure a roster spot for Maxence-Prosper heading into the season they could decline his option. Prosper, who turns 24 years old this week, averaged 19.5 points and 6.8 rebounds (2.2 offensive) per 36 minutes, with his career-best 40.5 percent clip from beyond the arc helping him earn a promotion from a two-way deal to a standard contract.
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